The Building Act 2004 requires Council to have a policy on dangerous and insanitary buildings. The policy must also consider any buildings that may be affected by a dangerous building, e.g. adjacent to, adjoining, or nearby. We are required to review this policy every five years.

The Dangerous, Affected and Insanitary Buildings Policy ensures that buildings in the district do not compromise people’s health and safety, and sets out how the Council will undertake its responsibilities under the Building Act 2004 that relate to dangerous, affected and insanitary buildings.

Following review, Council re-designed the policy to improve readability, however no major changes were made to the policy principles. Council asked the community if any further changes were required to meet the needs of the community.

Council received 11 submissions on the draft Dangerous, Affected and Insanitary Buildings Policy. Of these submissions, 3 agreed with the proposed option to adopt the draft as proposed, 1 did not agree with the proposal, and 7 did not have an opinion or did not select an option.

Submissions noted concerns about people living in commercial buildings and the general state of the buildings causing health and safety issues. Queries were raised about particular buildings that were regarded as unsafe. Additionally, a submitter requested a correction to the definition of ‘dangerous building’.

At its meeting held on 22 May 2024, Council decided to adopt the policy with the following amendments:

• Update to the definition of ‘Dangerous Building’ to reflect the Building Act 2004.
• Update section 6.4.3 to amend ‘New Zealand Historic Places Trust’ to ‘Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga’ to reflect the correct name of the organisation.

Council directed staff to follow up on any issues raised by submitters as appropriate. Council noted that concerns can be raised by calling our customer services team on 07 884 0060 or through the Antenno app so that they can be looked into.

You can view the final Dangerous, Affected and Insanitary Buildings Policy on our website (under Policies and Bylaws).